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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (251989)	4/30/2002 11:36:11 AM
From: Scumbria	Respond to of 769670

CK, Funny post, and it hits the nail right on the head.

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (251989)	4/30/2002 11:44:46 AM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 769670

Some things can't be changed. * * *

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (251989)	4/30/2002 3:44:01 PM
From: Mr. Whist	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

GOP political scandal-turmoil grows in Illinois. Infighting among Republicans Attorney General says governor should consider stepping down By Dan Kening Chicago Tribune staff reporter April 30, 2002 Citing an “erosion of trust” in Gov. George Ryan’s administration, Republican gubernatorial nominee Jim Ryan this afternoon repeated his call for the GOP governor to consider quitting but stopped short of demanding outright his resignation. “People have lost trust in (Gov. Ryan’s) leadership. You know it, and I know it,” Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan said. “This erosion of trust has been ongoing because of the license for bribes scandal and the financial disaster in Springfield.” “It’s not a question of disliking him personally, but a person cannot lead if people refuse to follow,” the candidate said at a news conference outside the John Hancock Center on North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. Jim Ryan is the most prominent Republican yet to suggest George Ryan should think about quitting. His statement was in response to a recent poll in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggesting two-thirds of Illinoisans believe the governor should quit. Earlier this month, a federal criminal indictment was returned against George Ryan’s campaign committee and two former top aides. Asked if the scandal was hurting the election chances of other Republicans, Jim Ryan said, “I’m not talking specifically about license for bribes. It has to do with greed and abuse of the office….A lot of what’s been going on has nothing to do with the Republican Party.” Pressed on the issue, the candidate – who is no relation to the governor -- repeatedly refused to say the governor should resign. “I was asked a question, and I gave an honest answer,” he said. “I was asked if he should step down, and I said that was something he should decide.” Gov. Ryan already has decided not to seek a second term. He said Monday he has no intention of resigning. “I’m elected until next January, and I’m going to be governor until next January, Lord willing,” the governor said. In a written statement to the Post-Dispatch, printed in this morning’s editions, Jim Ryan said, “I said from the first day of my candidacy for governor that we must restore trust in government.” “The decision to step down is one only Gov. George Ryan can make. But given the extraordinary erosion of trust in his office, unfortunately, it’s one he must consider,” the candidate said. Dennis Culloton, Gov. Ryan’s spokesman, dismissed the statement. “Jim Ryan’s worried about polls these days. He’s a candidate. His own poll numbers aren’t that great,” Culloton said. At today’s news conference, Jim Ryan responded, “My numbers aren’t bad at all. It’s a competitive race, so (the governor’s) office can say what they want.” A telephone poll of 806 likely voters from throughout Illinois was conducted for the Post-Dispatch and KMOV-TV by the Utica, N.Y.-based Zogby International from April 20 to April 24. It had a margin for error of 3.5 percentage points. Forty-one percent of respondents strongly agreed the governor should resign and 26 percent somewhat agreed. Only 10 percent strongly disagreed. Pressure has been growing on the governor to resign since a 10-count federal indictment was returned April 2, accusing the governor’s campaign committee, Citizens for Ryan, and two of his former top aides with a massive campaign fraud. The indictment alleged that for seven years, state employees were diverted to work on numerous campaigns on state time, shredding garbage bags full of campaign records and thwarting an internal investigation of alleged licenses for bribes. Among the scuttled investigations was that of truck driver Ricardo Guzman, who authorities say illegally bought his truck driver’s license at McCook and was later involved in a fiery crash near Milwaukee in which six children burned to death. The campaign committee specifically was charged with racketeering, theft of government funds, conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts of mail fraud. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek forfeiture of at least $1 million in allegedly ill-gotten proceeds from the committee. If convicted, the fund could face fines of up to an additional $1.5 million. Scott Fawell, Gov. Ryan’s ex-chief of staff and manager of Ryan’s 1998 governor’s campaign, was charged with racketeering, theft of government funds, conspiracy to obstruct justice, perjury, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns. Richard Juliano, an ex-Fawell aide, was charged with one count of mail fraud. He pleaded guilty April 18 to the charge and agreed to cooperate with authorities and testify at the October trial of Fawell. The Associated Press contributed to this story.